


the fountain

by soapyconnor



Category: Scarecrow (1973)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-11-05 14:38:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17920736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soapyconnor/pseuds/soapyconnor
Summary: max should have never left lionel alone. max should have tried to help him.





	the fountain

            It had been ten years since Lion had been locked up in a mental institution.

            Ten years, and Max’s car wash was doing all right. They had been able to expand, and now he had a reasonable number of employees. Everything seemed to be looking up for him, but he couldn’t get Lion off of his mind.

            Every morning he woke up, Lion was there.

            Every night, there he was, yet again.

            Max had tried to visit him, and he did at first. He visited him every weekend, and Lion remained in his catatonic state. Max thought that maybe, just maybe, if he continued to visit him, eventually Lion would snap out of it and be able to come to Pittsburgh and help him run the carwash.

            Eventually, he was told by the hospital, that it would probably be best if he didn’t visit Lion for a while.

            So, he didn’t.

            When he showed up a month later, they told him not to come again. He asked if he could call. They said yes.

            So, that’s what he did. When he called, they had nothing to say.

            Eventually, they told him they would call if anything were to change.

            That was ten years ago. And Max regrets not ignoring them.

 

 

            “That man has been standing outside for a while.”

            Max looked up to the receptionist, Kay, and raised an eyebrow. “Who?” he asked, before following her gaze. There was a man gazing up at the car wash, his brown eyes rather dull. He had a boyish face, and was wearing a black stocking cap. There was something about the man that struck Max in the core, but he shook it off. “I’ll go talk to him.”

            “Will you?” Kay asked, relieved, pushing his hair out of her face. “He’s been freaking me out a bit.”

            Max headed towards the front of the shop, and the man’s head dropped down at the movement. For a moment, their eyes met, and Max froze. The man than took off running down the street, and Max headed out of the shop, shouting after him.

            But the man was already gone.

 

 

            Max couldn’t sleep that night. He was seemingly haunted by Lion, who seemed to be the star of all of his dreams. The man he had seen outside of the car wash seemed to be haunting his dreams as well, because he was in there frequently. There was just something so God damn familiar about him . . .

            Max looked at the clock. It was five am, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to use the last couple of hours he had to sleep, so he got up and put on his coat, heading out onto the streets of Pittsburgh.

            The sun had barely peaked over the horizon, and the loneliness and solitude the streets provided reassured Max only slightly. He inhaled a bit, closing his eyes. He paused beneath a street light, and pulled out a cigarette, taking a deep inhale.

            He heard the sound of someone approaching. He tried to brush it off. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be bothered. He stared out into the distance, waiting for the person to pass, but they stopped underneath the street lamp as well.

            Max felt a hand gently grab at his wrist. He ripped his hand away, whipping around to look at the newcomer, harsh words just _waiting_ on his lips—

            “Lion.”

            The words leave his mouth, absolutely stunned. God, he hadn’t seen him—oh, God, how could it be—

            “I wonder if you’d remember me Max,” Lionel whispered, smiling softly at him, his voice so quiet that Max wasn’t quite sure he actually heard it.

            Max stared at him, before he enveloped Lion in a hug, making sure to be careful. Lion wrapped his arms around Max loosely, and the cigarette fell from his fingers. He pulled back, and stared his friend down. God, the man had lost so much weight. His face was sunken, there were dark circles around his eyes, and the hat was dragged so low over his head, Max had to wonder what was beneath it.

            “Of course, I remember you,” Max said quietly, cupping Lion’s cheek. Lion just smiled back at him, tiredly. Max paused. “You were out in front of the store earlier today, weren’t you?”

            Lion’s smile turned sheepish.

            “Why the hell didn’t you come in?”

            Lionel glanced around the street, before he took Max’s wrist. “Can we head somewhere we can talk alone?”

            Max nodded, and without another thought, began to lead Lionel back to his house.

 

 

            Lion sunk onto the couch, and gave a small smile. “Your house is nice.” He didn’t give Max a chance to respond, as he curled up in the corner of the couch. “So . . . is the offer still open?”

            “For you to be my partner?”

            Lion nodded.

            “Of course. It never went away.”

            Lion gave him a small smile. “Thank you.”

            Max waited for Lion to continue. He waited for Lion to say why it took so long for him to get out, why he was out all of a sudden, how the hell he even _got here_. He waited for an explanation. For anything.

            “Is it okay if I stay here?” Lion finally asked.

            Max paused. He swallowed and nodded. “Yes.” It wasn’t quite the answer he wanted, but what did it matter to him? Lion was here. He was no longer stuck in a hospital room. “There’s a spare bedroom.”

            “Do you mind if I take a nap then? I’m exhausted, Max. Haven’t slept since I got out,” he said quietly, giving Max a small smile.

            “Yeah. Of course.”

            Lion uncurled from his position on the couch, and got up, heading towards the spare bedroom.

            Max took his glasses off and scrubbed at his face, letting out a small sigh.

            _Riley_ , he thought to himself, _Whatever the fuck Lion’s ex-wife’s name is . . . fuck both of you._

(Max didn’t get anything out of Lionel. Not the next day. Not the day after that. It would take an entire fucking month before Lionel would reveal anything about his time in the mental hospital, and how he got the fuck out of there. Looking back, all of this should have set off alarm bells in Max’s head. The fact that Lionel appeared out of nowhere, the fact that he didn’t approach Max until he was completely alone, no human being in sight. How Lionel wouldn’t go anywhere alone, and would barely be seen at the car wash at all. How he wouldn’t even remove that God damn _hat._ It was like he wasn’t even there. Max just thought it was a side effect from Riley, an instance of just how seriously Riley and his ex-wife had fucked up his psyche, but it wasn’t that. It was never fucking that. He was hiding. Hiding from everyone. And Max was dumb enough to not realize it. But Max was just so happy to have him back that he ignored it. He didn’t see what was right in front of him.)

 

           

            “Max?”

            “What, Kay?”

            Kay chewed on her perfectly manicured nails. Max wanted to roll his eyes, but he refrained from doing so. Kay had her eyes on Lionel, who was sitting in the office, looking through the books. “Ain’t he that man who escaped from the loony bin in Detroit?”

            Max frowned. “What the hell you going on about?”

            He didn’t want to confirm that, yes, Lionel had been in a mental institution. Everyone here seemed to get along with Lionel enough, only when the man decided to come out of the office and interact with them. What would they say or think of Lionel if they knew he had been in a mental home?

            Kay shook her head. “You ain’t seen the news, have you?” Kay licked her lips. She pulled one of her drawers opened, and began to rummage through it. Then, she pulled out a newspaper and gently slid it towards Max, her eyes not leaving Lionel’s prone figure.

            Max gave her the side-eye, before he pulled the newspaper close to him. It was from about a month back, right around when Lion came back into Max’s life. He flipped through it, wondering what the hell Kay was on about, before he landed on the article.

 

            _MAN ESCAPES FROM DETROIT MENTAL HOSPITAL_

_Francis Lionel Delbuchi, 40, has escaped from Stonecrest Behavioral Health Hospital late last night. Francis has been a resident of the hospital for a little over ten years. Doctors have tried to help him, but Delbuchi has been unworkable. He has continuously refused treatment according to doctors. At the moment it is not known where Delbuchi is headed, but if you see him, please call the authorities. We are not sure about his mental condition, whether he will be a threat to you or not. Just to make sure you stay safe, please just call the police_.

 

            A weird feeling shot through Max’s chest. He turned to look at Kay, sadness in his eyes.   
“He’s my friend, Kay.”

            “He’s crazy.”

            “He’s not, I promise you. Has he done anything crazy while he was here? He’s just been quiet and withdrawn. Wouldn’t _you_ be the same way if you had to spend a decade in an insane asylum where they weren’t helping him? I mean, fucking _read it_ Kay.”

            Kay pursed her lips into a thin line, and reread the article. She glanced at him. “Look. If this was someone I cared about, I wouldn’t want this either. I get it. But you have to let the hospital know. You can’t just hide him like this. Think about the consequences you’ll face once they find out. Do you think they’re going to go lightly on you or him if they find out you _knew_ about his escape and continued to hide him?”

            Max scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’ll fucking talk to him tonight, okay?” He pushed the newspaper back to Kay. “If I hear that you spoke a word of this to anyone, you _will_ lose this job. You know that?”

            Kay rolled her eyes. “Why would I want to make myself a target if he does happen to be a crazy killer?”

            Max looked at Lionel through the window. He didn’t know much, but he knew Lionel wasn’t a killer.

 

 

            Max looked at Lion. The man was curled up on the couch, like usual, a blanket wrapped around him. His head was pressed against the arm of the couch, a dumb smile on his face as he watched the TV.

            Like always, that knit hat was on his head.

            “Hey, Lion.” Lion dragged his brown eyes up to meet Max’s gaze. “You trust me, don’t you?”

            “Of course, I do.”

            “Then tell me why I saw a newspaper with your face in it saying you escaped Stonecrest last month.”

            He watched the shift in emotions over Lionel’s face. He felt like he was destroying any chance he had of keeping Lion calm and collected. “Lion, I’m not mad or anything. I just want to help you, that’s all. Please, I need to know what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

            Lionel began to rock himself back and forth on the couch, gripping at his hat, drawing it over his eyes. He murmured ‘no’ under his breath, his bottom lip trembling and fat tears rolled down his cheeks. Surprised, Max got up and rushed over to Lion, kneeling in front of him and gently taking his hands. “Lion, _please_ , Lion, I just want to help you.”

            Lion let out a groan, his hands shaking in Max’s grip.

            “Just talk to me, Lion. Please.”

            Max watched as Lionel continued to shake and murmur to himself. Max bent his head and pressed his forehead against the man’s knees, letting out a soft sigh. “When you need a little pick-up, you’ll find a little cup of tea will always hit the spot,” he sang dramatically.

            That caused Lion to pause, then to look up, pushing up the hat only a bit. Max could barely see his eyes. “Stop it.”

            Max ignored it, and continued to sing dramatically. Eventually he saw a wobbly smile spread across Lion’s face, and that’s when he stopped. He reached up to dab at Lionel’s cheeks. “Please. Just talk to me.”

            Lion sniffed, and wiped at his cheeks, before he slowly relaxed. He leaned forward, pressing his face against Max’s shoulder. “They hurt me, Max.”

            Max went silent.

            “They hurt me a lot. I wanted to leave once I got out of my sadness but they wouldn’t let me. Said I was still a danger. So, they hurt me,” he whispered.

            Max didn’t move. He allowed Lion to stay where he was, Lion’s hands fisted into the front of his jacket. Lion sniffed, rubbing his face against his shoulder.

            “Lion . . . can you . . . show me how they hurt you?”

            Lion tensed.

            “You don’t have too if you don’t want too. I just want . . . I want to know how I can help you.” Max looked up at Lion, who had dragged the hat over his eyes again. Max sat there and gently rubbed the younger man’s knee, hoping that if he just sat here and was quiet, the man would eventually open up to him. It was all he needed, really . . .

            A couple of minutes passed before Lion murmured, “Close the blinds. Please.”

            Max paused, and then nodded. He got to his feet and moved around the house, closing any of the blinds in their vicinity. When he turned around, he jumped in shock.

            Lion was naked, all except that stupid knit hat on his head. Lion was visibly shaking, and Max didn’t have time to think about anything, because he saw the scars that _littered_ Lion’s body, and he felt rage slowly fill him.

            “Lion—”

            “T-they restrained me a lot, okay?” Lion murmured. “Said I was a danger to myself. One time I escaped and a nurse pulled a knife on me because she was scared, I’d hurt her. I ain’t ever hurt nobody that hasn’t deserved it, Max. You know that. I couldn’t even hurt Riley—” Lion choked on his breath, burying his face in his hands. “I can’t get better when I’m getting hurt, Max.”

            He snapped out of his daze, and quickly approached Lion, ignoring the fact he was naked and pulled him into a hug. “I know,” he whispered, holding him close. “I know. You don’t have to explain anything to me. I understand.”

            Lion sobbed into his chest. “I always knew you would. I just never knew how to tell you.”

            “Well, you’re telling me now.” Lion nodded against Max’s chest and Max pulled them both down onto the couch, wrapping a blanket around the both of them. “I’m sorry, Lion. I should have never left you there.”

            “You had to start the car wash.”

            “That’s not an excuse.”

            Max stared up at the ceiling, regret filling every inch of his being. He looked down at Lion, who had stopped sobbing and was now crying soundlessly against his chest. He realized that Lion was still wearing his hat. “Lion, can you please take off your hat?” he murmured.

            Lion paused. “You take it off.”

            Max frowned, and reached up, gently peeling Lion’s hat off of his head. His heart dropped into his stomach. Lion’s head was full of scars, dry patches dotting the skin inbetween the remaining patches of his hair. He had seen this before. Some men in prison did this to themselves, tore at their hair, harmed themselves the only way they feasibly could.

            “Lion . . .”

            “It won’t stop. I think about them finding me. Hurting me.” He sobbed. “I know you noticed how I acted at work. I’m sorry. I’m trying, I really am, but I can’t go back. I can’t.”

            “You won’t go back, okay? Forget the car wash. I got it, okay? You can just stay here. You don’t gotta worry anymore, Lion,” he said, running a hand through the hair that remained on Lionel’s head.

            Lion sniffed and looked up at him. “Wha . . . you mean it?” he murmured, his eyes round. It almost reminded Max of a time before things went to shit.

            “Exactly what I mean. I can take care of the car wash. You can stay here and watch toons all you want. I’ll provide for ya, get ya whatever you want. Want a radio? Some books? You got it, kid.”

            Lion stared up at him, his face slowly softening. “Max . . .”

            “Don’t say anything Lion, okay?”

            Lion nodded, laying his head against Max’s chest. He closed his eyes. “I’m really glad I met you, Max,” he whispered, as he slowly fell asleep.

            “I’m glad I met you too, Lion,” he replied, holding his friend close. Lion fell asleep, his chest slowly rising and falling. Max looked down at him, before he closed his eyes, sighing softly. _I’ll make things right by you, Lion. I promise._

            For once, Max fell asleep, not worrying about what tomorrow would bring.


End file.
